I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson Page B

more challenging on a forested, narrow highway winding toward northern Wisconsin. I had just found
R
for “rock” when Wanda switched on the blinker. Up ahead, a wooden sign with carved letters read:
    Â 
    Welcome to
NEW THULE
Paradise of the North
    Wanda shifted down a gear.
    â€œOne more turn, and we’re there,” she said.
    The reunion—
    Somehow I had sort of forgotten about it between the alphabet game and daydreaming. I may have even fallen asleep for a while. All at once, I didn’t want the car ride to end. This had been enough of an adventure. I picked up the sleeping bag and hugged it for support as if I were a little kid getting dropped off at some horrible summer camp.
    We made our way slowly down a dirt road that barely seemed wide enough for just one car. Wanda had to carefully maneuver around the deep muddy puddles. Just ahead, a sign made from tree logs arched between two enormous pine trees. It read:
    Â 
    PAUL BUNYAN STATE PARK AND CAMPGROUND
    My heart began pounding as my stomach clenched with the thought of meeting so many strange people all at once. I had to keep reminding myself that it was just for a few days. I could survive for
just a few days
.
    Wanda jammed the truck into park but left the engine running. She peered over at me.
    â€œHave a nice time.”
    What was she talking about?
    â€œAren’t you staying for the reunion?”
    â€œNope.”
    Now I was really anxious. At least there would have been one semifamiliar face.
    â€œBut I thought you said you were a cousin?”
    â€œThat’s right, but I’m not staying.”
    I focused on the sleeping bag and hugged it harder.
    â€œCan’t you visit for a little bit?”
    Wanda frowned and stared forward through the windshield. For a family reunion, the place seemed awfully quiet. Not a person in sight. Not even a squirrel.
    â€œGotta get back and help with chores,” she said glancing up at the sun which was below the treetops. “It’s gonna be dark in a few hours.”
    All of a sudden I worried that this was the wrong place. What if she dropped me off in the middle of nowhere at a different Paul Bunyan Campground? How would I last the night all by myself in the woods without a tent?
    â€œAre you sure this is where they’re having it?”
    I was hoping Wanda would realize that she had made a huge mistake and that the only thing to do was to drive me back to the airport. I no longer felt brave or interested in adventures one tiny bit.
    But instead, Wanda opened the ashtray and pulled out a stick of gum.
    â€œThey’ve been having this shindig for over fifty years right here in New Thule.” She popped the gum in her mouth and began to chew real slowly, like her teeth might fall out. “Most of the family lives in these parts.”
    I drooped against my sleeping bag. It had been such a long day already. I couldn’t find the strength to get out of the truck. What had I been thinking, doing this all by myself? And how could Donatella let me fly off alone to a bunch of strange relatives she had never even met?
    Wanda offered me the shiny silver package. “Want one?”
    I took a piece for later and stuck it in my pocket where the gold bead was tucked away. The good luck bead. Again, I was reminded of Penelope. Brave, spirited, try-anything Penelope. She would be so disappointed if I returned to Homeport having chickened out on the reunion.
    It was
just for a few days, just for a few days . . .
    I opened the door and stepped out before I changed my mind.
    â€œThank you for the ride.”
    Wanda leaned across the seat and cranked the window all the way open.
    â€œThese are your folks, kid. Don’t fret. They’ll take good care of you.”
    â€œThen why don’t you stay?”
    For some reason, I was really beginning to like (or was it trust?) Wanda.
    She leaned back in and crunched the gears into reverse.
    â€œâ€™Cause I don’t